The American Humanist Association, sister organization to the Center for Humanist Activism, signed the coalition letter below from The National Center for Public Education. The letter can be read as a PDF file here.

The undersigned
members of the National Coalition for Public Education (NCPE) write to
express our strong opposition to any amendments to H.R. 5, “The Student
Success Act,” that would allow the expenditure of scarce federal funds
on private school vouchers.

Vouchers run counter to the
very purpose of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
Instead of providing equal access to high quality education or setting
high standards and accountability, voucher programs have proven
ineffective, lack accountability to taxpayers, and deprive students of
rights provided to public school students.

At a time when
Congress is attempting to reduce spending, it is poor public policy to
funnel taxpayer funds away from public schools and toward private
schools. Vouchers divert desperately-needed resources away from the
public school system to fund the education of a few, select voucher
students, with limited, if any, real impact on student academic
achievement. Congress better serves all children by using funds to make
the public schools stronger and safer than by creating a new voucher
program.

Vouchers support schools that are not bound by the open
and non-discriminatory acceptance policies that are a unifying factor
among the diverse range of ethnic and religious communities of our
society and a strength of our public school system. Public schools serve
any and all students that walk through the school house doors,
regardless of race, religion, disability, or income.

Vouchers
deprive students of rights and protections they are awarded in public
schools. Despite receiving public money, private schools that
participate in voucher programs are not subject to all federal civil
rights laws and do not face the same public accountability standards
that all public schools must meet, including those in Title IX, IDEA,
and ESEA—the very law the House seeks to reauthorize.

Vouchers do
not improve student education. According to multiple studies of the
District of Columbia, Milwaukee, and Cleveland school voucher programs,
students offered vouchers do not perform better in reading and math than
students in public schools. Vouchers do not receive proper oversight,
accountability, or internal controls. Most voucher programs are plagued
with accountability problems, as they do not have to adhere to the same
standards set for public schools.

Voucher programs primarily fund
private religious schools. To both protect the religious freedom of
taxpayers and the autonomy of religious schools, many of our coalition
members object to taxpayer money being used to fund religious education.

For
these reasons and more, NCPE opposes any amendments that would permit a
voucher program in H.R. 5, “The Student Success Act.” ESEA should
ensure that public dollars remain invested in public schools and that no
ESEA funds may be used for private school vouchers.

Thank you for your consideration of our views.

Sincerely,

African American Ministers In ActionAmerican Association of School AdministratorsAmerican Association of University Women (AAUW)American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)American Federation of School Administrators (AFSA), AFL-CIOAmerican Federation of TeachersAmerican Humanist AssociationAmerican Jewish Committee (AJC)Americans for Democratic ActionAmericans for Religious LibertyAmericans United for Separation of Church and StateAnti-Defamation LeagueASPIRA Association, Inc.Association of Educational Service AgenciesBaptist Joint Committee for Religious LibertyCenter for InquiryChildren and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity DisorderClearinghouse on Women's IssuesCouncil for Exceptional ChildrenCouncil of the Great City SchoolsDisciples Justice Action NetworkEqual Partners in FaithFamily and Children’s Ministries, Disciples Home Missions, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)Feminist MajorityFreedom From Religion FoundationHindu American FoundationInstitute for Science and Human ValuesInterfaith AllianceInternational Reading AssociationLawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under LawNA’AMAT USANational Alliance of Black School EducatorsNAACPNational Association for Bilingual EducationNational Association of Elementary School PrincipalsNational Association of Federally Impacted SchoolsNational Association of State Directors of Special EducationNational Association of Secondary School PrincipalsNational Center for Lesbian RightsNational Council of Jewish WomenNational Education AssociationNational Organization for WomenNational Parent Teacher AssociationNational Rural Education Advocacy CoalitionNational Rural Education AssociationNational School Boards AssociationPeople For the American WayPublic Education NetworkSecular Coalition for AmericaSchool Social Work Association of AmericaSouthern Poverty Law CenterUnion for Reform JudaismUnitarian Universalist Association of CongregationsUnited Church of Christ Justice & Witness MinistriesWomen of Reform Judaism